Yes, I "won" 12 lots of beads. Where am I going to put them? I'm a novice. How many beads are in 300 grams anyway? The good news is that my TOTAL is under $100...but I'm just over when you add in shipping.

By this time next week, we'll both know what I've done. I'll keep you posted.

This week has been a whirlwind. I've been trying to play catch-up (read "clean the house) since returning from WA, but haven't made much progress. I did find out that I left my phone charger in the Hampton Inn. They will ship it back next week. yay.

On Friday we took a break and went to the Long Beach Quilt Festival. I didn't take many pictures. There's so much to see I was busy looking. :) This quilt, at the entrance in the West Coast Wonders exhibit caught my eye. I love the way she broke the piece into two separate quilts. It really is stunning.

You can read about it here:The only other pictures I took were quilts of friends. You've seen this before, it's part of the 2010 Hoffman Challenge traveling collection and was made by Kay Scheidt.

This one is by Kay Pennington, again, part of the 2010 Hoffman Challenge collection.

This one is by Sharon L. Schlotzhauer. It was in the Celebrate Spring exhibit. It won Honorable Mention at the show in April.

Those are the only pictures I took. For the most part, I just looked and looked.

On another note, a friend's husband heard I was looking for a storage box for my beads. Before you could say "Jack Robinson!" he'd built this. It is mine.

I chose my own knobs, which I bought and he installed. The cabinet is oak and walnut. The knobs are crystal, made in Germany. yeah, my mom raised me with expensive taste.

Without doing the math, I thought I might be able to squeeze it into my cabinet, so I took out the mess that was already in there.

I should have known better. The space is 26", the box is 25", but the opening is only 24". No way can I get it inside. *sigh*

Instead, I've booted my embroidery machine from this cabinet machine, and have given the box a place of prominence. Unfortunately there are only four drawers. ( I can barely lift it.) I have more beads than box at the moment, and that's BEFORE my latest purchases.

Another friend is clearing out her bead stash on eBay, and so far I've "won" 4 lots. I've got bids on another 15, so I may end up having to build a whole room, not just buy another box...

Monday, July 25, 2011

I haven't been blogging, because I've been out of town. We went to the wedding of Amber and Curtis, in Ferndale, WA, yesterday. What a lovely weekend! This is the gift I made for them...

Our weekend began with an arrival in Bellingham, via Allegiant Air. Interesting airline, interesting airport. I totally cracked up when I saw PEOPLE unloading the baggage at baggage claim. Have you ever seen PEOPLE unload your bags? Or do they just spill off of a conveyor belt, delivered by who-knows-how?

We arrived in Bellingham on Friday, and decided to pay a visit to Anacortes on Saturday. We'd been there once, in the late 90's. We'd been there on a Sunday, and everything was closed. This time we had all day Saturday, and the town was as lovely and inviting as I remembered/imagined it.

I particularly liked this view from Commercial Avenue, with all of the cranes, in various sizes.

I loved the hanging baskets, that are on every street corner and in between. What a difference between WA state and Central CA. The colors in WA are so vivid, and the plant life is so ALIVE. Here, other than agriculture, most plants have to work hard to simply survive. Hot and dry vs. cool and damp. wow. The color says it all.

I stopped this young woman on the street, just for you. I know there are a lot of dog lovers out there, and this was truly a "cute puppy alert." :) The picture doesn't do him justice.

We went up to the Viewpoint, and I loved this picture with the ship with the snow-capped mountains in the background. Simply gorgeous!

We left Anacortes, and drove to Deception Pass. This was Pete's favorite part of the day.

We drove back to Bellingham, and had dinner at Anthony's, overlooking the harbor. I asked Pete to take my picture, modeling my sunburn. It's my first sunburn of the year, and I got it in WA. Crazy. Specifically, I got it in Anacortes, where they'd had a TOTAL of 78 MINUTES of temperatures over 70 degrees THIS YEAR. I think we brought the CA heat with us, and then took it away when we left.

After dinner, we walked down to watch people load their boats on their trailers. Fascinating.

On Sunday morning, we stopped in Lynden, WA. There is nothing to do in Lynden on Sunday, other than attend church. All of their lampposts also sport gorgeous hanging baskets.

Here is Pete, texting a client. "You were right. Everything is closed. However there are no hymns being piped out to the empty streets. They are being sung in the churches."

Window shopping was good. This Pineapple quilt was quite worn, but under $50.

In the afternoon, we attended the wedding. What a beautiful bride!

I've never seen a cake like this. I thought it was quite clever.

The wedding was held in a beautiful garden in Ferndale. I think one of my favorite parts was the fire pit, complete with all the makings for S'mores, at your pleasure.

All too soon it was over, the bride and groom were off on their honeymoon, and we were headed back to CA.

It was a lovely weekend, and tomorrow vacation is officially OVER. Back to work...

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Well, the 2011 traveling list for the Hoffman Collection is on the website. You can check the names of the quilt travelers here. My little quilt was accepted to travel, and I just checked the calendar. It looks like it will be going to Houston AND Paducah. woohoo! I might have to go to Paducah next year. I've already warned my husband. :)

Congratulations to all whose entries were chosen to travel. I don't recognize many names, although a local quilter, Rebecca Haley, has two.

And that's all I have for you today. It's been a very heady week around here. Good thing weeks like this don't come around too often. I'd need to tie a string around my ankle and find something to anchor to.

First, here's a picture of Chupa, for her fans. As you can see, she finally had the nerve to say "Hello" to me. Maybe it's because every time I visit her, I clean her water dish, whether it needs it or not. And I haven't raised my hand or voice to her, even though I carry scary things like brooms and shovels. :)

I'd been looking for this purse pattern all last week. I finally found it when I wasn't looking for it. *sigh* It's made from fabrics purchased by my daughter on Etsy. The fabrics were made on Spoonflower, by the seller, I wish I could remember her name. Anyway, this is absolutely, without doubt, a one-of-a-kind bag. Didn't it turn out cute?

I had a free hour or so, and I haven't wanted to start anything big. This year's County Fair has a plane theme. It just so happens that I had the center of this quilt in my UFO box. Yesterday I added the large corner triangles and borders.

I've recently taken in two quilts-for-hire. If I'm going to go to the effort of putting up the basting tables, I may as well make good use of them. Who knows? I may actually cross a UFO off my list this year. Goals are good. This one was started in...1991, if I'm not mistaken...

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Eighteen years ago my brother married his beautiful bride. We would not have wished anyone other than Sharon for him. The two of them are very good together. I sent them this card. It's still in transit.

Twenty-nine years ago we welcomed our daughter. What a blessing she's been! We delivered her card in person.

A few years ago she left me with her favorite t-shirt, asking if I could make it into a pillow. I told her "Yes, but it will take awhile." I guess I waited long enough, because when I gave it to her this morning, it was a complete surprise. "I used to have a t-shirt like that..." :)

After a weekend with "the kids," I came home will lots of Penny pics.

I can't believe I had my camera with me most of the time, but when we were in the best place to take a picture, I left it in the car. arg! All 8 of us were together in the same place...P S A A D A J & P.

I guess we'll just have to get together again, and next time I'll remember to haul out the camera!!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Have you ever seen anything so enormously delicious?!!! These peaches are extraordinary. They look like a meal unto themselves. When I finish here, I will dive into one for breakfast. Imagine that juicy sweetness dripping all over...it will be worth the clean-up!

The winners of Knoxville have been posted here. Check them out! I just went through and it was fun to see a lot of quilts that are "new" to me. It does not consist of quilts that I am already familiar with, so it was especially fun to browse the show. :) Congratulations to my friend Sharon, for her first place win in the Bed Quilts category.

That's all I have for you right now. We're off to a birthday celebration this weekend, so you can expect to see new Penny pics some time soon... :)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Actually, it's not that hot right now. Today topped out in the low 90's, which was VERY welcome. They're whispering 80's for the weekend, which would be oh, so delicious!

Yesterday this butterfly was resting on this dead rose. The day before, the rose had been in full bloom. Bud, bloom, shrivel. All in about 48 hours. So much for enjoying roses.

I had a lot of fun capturing this butterfly with my camera. I snuck up from behind, thinking, "He looks just like Uncle Martin!"

You probably have to be at least as old as I am, to understand that observation!

The only sewing that got done today were the sleeve and label for my Hoffman. It is now boxed and ready for shipping tomorrow. "More Glorious Than Solomon" returned from Sacred Threads this morning. Ahhh, it feels good to both finish a project, and have another return safely from its travels.

What next?

If I only knew...My Studio is semi-clean, and I'm guessing that by next week, I'll be seriously starting on a new show quilt. Goals are good!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Well, I've done it. I've finished my Hoffman. I still have to sleeve and label it, but the hard part is behind me. yay!

The thing that cracks me up about this quilt is that I did not intend to make a Hoffman this year. It just kind of happened. It came about as a result of my class at Asilomar, with Jeannette DeNicolis Meyer. And during that class at Asilomar, we'd both agreed that I wouldn't do a Hoffman this year. Crazy the way things work out.

It's been too hot to begin work on my next show quilt, because it's been too hot to think. This was just mindless, gentle repetition. Beading is almost like hand-quilting, only it requires more space and better coordination. But just like hand quilting, you see the patterns and new designs emerge under your finger tips, adding depth and dimension to the flat surface. I love watching the transformation of something nice, to something unique and pleasing to the eye.

At least I think this is pleasing to the eye. Those who have seen it in person seem to really like it. Now to finish it and hopefully get it to CO by Friday. Goals are good!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Apparently last month's Appliance Armageddon at our house was merely a prelude to bigger and better broken.

Today it was my car. Take a gander. What? It looks fine to you? Look how close the fender is to the back tire. We're barely skimming the ground.

I took it to the dealer, and came home with a rental. "We don't recommend driving it without airbags, and we don't have the fix-it part in stock." The good news is that the part should be in tomorrow, and will be installed to the tune of 1/4 thousand dollars. yeah. I know. It's a $30 part. And we don't know if this will actually fix it or not.

In the meantime, I am researching new cars, one of my least favorite things to do. But someone's got to do it eventually, and this car is 10 years old...

On a happier note, I remembered to take a picture of this card yesterday. I like the way it turned out, even though the red star barely shows. The gold makes it stand out a bit more.

I guess that's it. No sewing today, I spent the morning getting this car looked at and the afternoon having a new windshield installed in the van. Joy, joy, count it all joy.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

It's been hot around here. If you're from around here, you know that is nothing new. It is always hot in the summer. But this year we had a marvelous miraculous spring, which was extended for months by continuous rainfall. I was lulled into a false sense of well-being, and feel like 100+ is a cruel joke being played on all of us.

Can't we have a cooler summer, all summer long, just once? Pretty please?

I deal with it by doing chores before noon, and then playing in the Studio until dinner time. Only it's too hot to play. I just want to lie back and eat bon bons. I don't eat bon bons. Instead, I chug ice water and crunch ice as though I'm in a Nathan's ice-eating contest. I could be a contender. :)

This morning's "chore" focused on cleaning the back bedroom. When I finally got back to quilting-for-hire, I cleared my sewing table by transferring everything to the bed next door. I've been stashing things on the bed next door for 3 months. The bed was full.

As I cleared off the bed, I found all kinds of marvelous things, things that had completely disappeared from memory. Like a bag FULL of aquamarine beads, that I bought at the bead store back in May. I'd completely forgotten them.

I found a Rubbermaid shoe box, filled with beads that I'd purchased in Long Beach and at PIQF. I remember buying some of them, and had been looking for them for months. Apparently I'd put them in a "safe place."

I found many bits and pieces meant for quilted cards. I actually made three cards today, but again forgot to pull out my camera before sealing the envelope. I should store my camera next to the stamps when I am making cards.

These two will go out in tomorrow's mail.

I also found several small (less than 12") quilts that are partially completed. I may finish some of them.

It's really a bummer that I actually have some long spans of quality time available right now. It's too hot to think, so I can't work on anything demanding precision or care. *sigh* Welcome Summer!

And the pile on the bed? Well, it's still there, but quickly dissipating. Just like my brain cells in the heat.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

First, I'll show you another birthday card. Hopefully it has been delivered so I'm not spoiling a surprise. Have you wondered about the crocheted pansies? I bought a pansy-edged doily at a yard sale last year. I couldn't get the linen center clean, but the pansies were in perfect condition. I've been making good use of them.

I haven't been to a Visalia pro game since before the stadium was remodeled (built!) and they were the Oaks, not the Rawhide. They are a Diamondbacks feeder team.

The mascot is this bull, he goes by the name of Tipper. I kept cracking myself up as he wandered near us. We were with a group of a dozen dairy vets and a few hundred dairy owners/families. Umm, Tipper? I wouldn't turn your back so nonchalantly. You might want to be a bit more wary, wandering through this particular grandstand... I won't say any more.

My favorite part was the after game fireworks. The last time I remember seeing a fireworks show in person, Gray Davis was running for CA governor the first time. He was elected twice, then recalled, then we suffered through an eternity of Schwartzenegger. Needless to say, it's been a long, long time since I've seen a fireworks display up close. I LOVED it!

Finally, here's another Hoffman tease. I'm almost to the halfway mark. Sorry about the glare off the couch. It was the best place to lay it, without revealing the entire piece. I hope to have it finished this week. Stay tuned!